Written for the iPod Challenge.
Day Four.
When it's in your spine, like you've walked for miles
And the only thing you want is just to be still for a while
Beside You
(Marianas Trench)
Being a professor at Hogwarts meant many things. For Minerva McGonagall at this moment in time, it meant keeping her students safe. In the midst of a war, this was an impossible task. However, Minerva kept her mind set on her task, and wasn't going to be distracted. Being one of the better witches, she had her own battles to fight, of course, and was trying to take down several Death Eaters whilst keeping a watchful eye on her students – old and new.
Whenever she had a moment to spare, which wasn't very often, or when she was taking a few split seconds to catch her breath, she took a while to admire the younger one's work. They really were quite impressive. The hexes being used were advanced, and they were against older, skilled wizards and witches. Minerva had at first thought the battle was a lost cause, considering that the majority fighting were still in school, but after seeing the way the battle was going, a small glimmer of hope lit in her heart.
"Stupefy!" she yelled, pointing her wand at yet another Death Eater's chest. When would this madness end? It had taken far too long to get the younger students out of the castle, and now they were battling. They were battling for death. No one was showing any mercy, and even Unforgivables seemed to be shooting past like any other spell.
Stay calm. Stay calm. You can do this. For the students, Minerva. Stay calm. Stay calm!
Yes, that was exactly what she had to do. Stay calm. Not only for the students though – for herself. Ever since the death of Dumbledore she had been on the edge, and her picture-perfect image was crumbling around her.
It's when she saw little Colin Creevey being craddled by Oliver Wood when the wall finally fell. She was meant to have sent him out. How could he have come back in? It was her fault. After he'd been laid next to the many other bodies – some students, some teachers, some adults, and mostly friends – Minerva sat in an abandoned corridor. And as she wrapped her bony arms around herself, and tears slipt dow her wrinkled cheeks, time stood still. They'd won the war – it was over.
It was all over.